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really is this simple. As simple as it was for you to pick up this booklet, it is just as easy to enjoy ballet and other interesting dance forms. There are no special methods or tricks that you need to be taught. There is no in-depth research to be done. The big secret that dance-lovers are in on, is that there’s no secret at all. The journey is all yours. You just have to be willing to take the ride. Dance is the human body moving. In one form or another, dance has been a part of our history since the world began. Primitive societies used dance to celebrate the planting and harvesting of their crops. Kings and Queens of the 16th century celebrated royal weddings with great entertainments that included wonderful displays of dance. The 19th century brought people to the theatre to watch dance as a way to escape their harsh realities for a few hours. Today a variety of media and technology utilize the pleasing aesthetics of moving bodies. Music videos, commercials and video games continue to keep dance a part of our everyday lives. So why then are we still apprehensive about going to dance performances? The biggest stumbling block to the public enjoyment of dance is the fact that people feel that they don’t understand what is going on. In Paris, 1913, crowds rioted in the streets after the premiere of Vaslav Nijinsky’s ballet The Rite of Spring. This reaction demonstrates the anger and frustration the audience felt because they did not understand the dance set before them. Sadly this confusion still exists today. To avoid frustration and embarrassment many people close themselves off to dance completely. They, therefore, miss out on the way dance can be pleasurable, provoke thought, enhance creativity and overall enrich their lives. You may have heard comments like “I don’t understand it” or “It just doesn’t mean anything to me”. To the uninitiated, dance is all the same. But now, at the beginning of a new century, the range of styles, philosophies and techniques is so varied. Canada’s vibrant dance scene offers a wide variety of viewing options. If you don’t like one choreographer’s or a particular company’s work, chances are there is another work that you will enjoy The key is not to pressure yourself. There is no right or wrong interpretation. Regardless of whether or not a dance performance meets your particular tastes you are going to get something out of it. The combination of movement, gesture, set design, music and lighting all work together to take you on the journey. The adventure begins the moment you sit in the theatre and the lights begin to dim. As the performance surrounds you, you may feel excited, relaxed, anxious, distressed, curious or amazed. It’s your experience, and the interpretation of it is all yours. With each movement your imagination is able to soar to new and potentially unknown places without fear or trepidation because you are open to the experience. If you are still not convinced that you can enjoy dance then some practice may be in order. First try looking at moving bodies you are familiar with. You can safely examine the way a baseball pitcher throws a curve ball or the way a hockey goalie makes a save. The movements of many athletes follow organized pathways that elicit emotional responses from their spectators. Dancers are also athletes who through hard work and discipline move their bodies in an organized or choreographed way. What you see on stage can be just as accessible as watching a sporting event, and because there are no rules in dance, there are countless possibilities for response. Why not set your mind in motion alongside of the movement Just as you have to learn your ABC’s in order to read and write, dancers have to learn the basic exercises and positions of ballet in order to perform choreography on the stage. They practice these exercises every day in order to keep their bodies limber and in top performing shape. The language of ballet is French. The terminology was originally developed in the court of Louis XIV during the 17th century. Today, wherever in the world a ballet class is given, the names of the steps are given to students in their original French Before a ballet is ready to be performed on stage hundreds of hours of work take place behind the scenes. Ballet dancers are an elite group of athletes. They train for many years before becoming professional dancers and once they join a company their training does not end. Dancers’ bodies need to be extremely strong and flexible to execute the demanding technique of ballet so they must practice and rehearse every day to keep their bodies in top physical condition. For every minute of dancing you see on the stage, there has been one hour of rehearsal. The setting of the stage helps to evoke the time, place or atmosphere. All of the sets, scenery and props used by the National Ballet are made at the company’s production workshop, a large building the size of an airplane hanger. Scenic artists, carpenters and electricians work together, from the drawings made by the set designer, to bring the setting to the stage. Lighting design is added to enhance the production. Often the same person who designs the set of a production designs the costumes. The designer creates a drawing of the costume and then the National Ballet’s wardrobe department makes a pattern, chooses material, sews it together, decorates the costume and finally fits it on the dancers. Ballet costumes have to be carefully reinforced so the dancers can move easily and not worry about them coming apart while they are dancing. When dancers rehearse in the studio a pianist plays the music for them. It is usually at the dress rehearsal that the dancers hear the orchestra for the first time. It is also at the dress rehearsal that they have their final opportunity to try on their costumes, work with the props and scenery, and practice the steps on the stage. Everyone’s hard work is rewarded the moment the curtain rises and the ballet begins In daily ballet class, rehearsals and performances, a dancer’s body is pulled and stretched in many different directions. When executing grand leaps and jumps, their feet, knees and backs are subject to further abuse by landing on very hard concrete floors. As a remedy, most dancers dance on specially constructed dance floors to absorb the impact of jumping. This floor is called a “sprung floor Pointe Shoes Developed in the early 19th century, pointe shoes are worn by female dancers to enable them to dance on the tips of their toes. Though they look just like a slipper, pointe shoes are made of hard leather to help support the foot and the outside of the shoe is covered with pink satin that is sometimes dyed to match the dancer’s costume. To keep the shoe on tightly, dancers sew satin ribbons to the sides and tie them securely around their ankles. When dancing, sweat and body heat soften the shoe quickly and it can no longer hold the dancer’s foot. Typically, dancers can go through one pair of pointe shoes each performance. Male dancers typically do not wear pointe shoes. They wear ballet slippers or special ballet boots that are flexible enough for them to move in. Makeup For The Stage If you stood onstage without any makeup on your face, the audience would probably see a blur instead of your face because the strong lights would wash out all your facial features. To highlight and accentuate their eyes, cheeks, noses and other features, all dancers, male and female, wear makeup when they are onstage. Sometimes stage makeup is exaggerated so that the dancer will look like a specific character or creature for a particular production. False noses, eyelashes and moustaches can all be used to enhance the effect. Very complicated makeup can take up to 2 hours to apply. What Is A Tutu? A tutu is a special kind of skirt worn by dancers in many ballets. When the first ballets were performed in the 15th and 16th centuries, female dancers performed in the courts of royalty wearing floor length gowns with heavy decorations. These cumbersome outfits greatly restricted their movements. In the early 1800s, with the development of the pointe shoe and the many stories about fairies and nymphs, the Romantic tutu became popular. This skirt came below the dancers’ knees, and gave them a dreamy, ethereal look, while allowing them to move more freely. As ballet technique developed becoming more and more complicated, the tutu was shortened to a length above the knee. This bell shaped tutu is known as a Classical tutu. It was much easier to dance in and the audience could see the positions of the legs and the dazzling footwork. Choreographers and costume designers in the 21st century now choose costumes which best suit the purpose of their ballet. This means that depending on the ballet, you may see a Romantic tutu, a Classical tutu or no tutu at all